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WayFinder: A Navigational Interface for Visitors and Blind Students on Campus

WayFinder: A Navigational Interface for Visitors and Blind Students on Campus

Tracey J. Mehigan, Ian Pitt
Copyright: © 2013 |Pages: 22
ISBN13: 9781466640542|ISBN10: 1466640545|EISBN13: 9781466640559
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4054-2.ch010
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MLA

Mehigan, Tracey J., and Ian Pitt. "WayFinder: A Navigational Interface for Visitors and Blind Students on Campus." Tools for Mobile Multimedia Programming and Development, edited by D. Tjondronegoro, IGI Global, 2013, pp. 168-189. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4054-2.ch010

APA

Mehigan, T. J. & Pitt, I. (2013). WayFinder: A Navigational Interface for Visitors and Blind Students on Campus. In D. Tjondronegoro (Ed.), Tools for Mobile Multimedia Programming and Development (pp. 168-189). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4054-2.ch010

Chicago

Mehigan, Tracey J., and Ian Pitt. "WayFinder: A Navigational Interface for Visitors and Blind Students on Campus." In Tools for Mobile Multimedia Programming and Development, edited by D. Tjondronegoro, 168-189. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4054-2.ch010

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Abstract

Navigating a university campus can be difficult for visitors and incoming students/staff, particularly those who are blind or vision-impaired. Universities around the world, including University College Cork (UCC), generally rely on physical sign-posting and map-based information (available as a download from the university Website) to direct visitors, staff, and students. These methods are not appropriate for those with vision-impairments. Mobility training is provided by UCC’s Disability Support Service (DSS) to enable blind/vision-impaired staff and students to safely and independently navigate campus, but the training is route-specific, time-consuming, and expensive. A navigation solution that facilitates all campus users, both sighted and vision-impaired, could be provided via mobile and wireless technologies. Research has been conducted to assess the needs of those navigating campus, to evaluate relevant technologies, and to assess the state-of-the-art in regard to the provision of navigational information. The results suggest that no off-the-shelf solution exists that fully meets the requirements of UCC. Existing systems fall short in various respects, in particular in the accuracy and reliability of the localization information and the nature of the feedback provided to the user. This chapter summarizes the results obtained from the review. A system is described which has been designed, in the light of the review findings, to enable visitors, staff, and students (both sighted and vision-impaired/blind) to safely and independently navigate the campus using a smart-phone. This system has potential for use at other universities and institutions. The development and initial testing of the user interface layer of the system is described.

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